The Baltimore Orioles finished the first half on a five-game winning streak including taking three from Minnesota. With a record of (54-35) they have the third best record in MLB trailing only the NL East leading Atlanta Braves (60-29) and the AL East Leading Tampa Bay Rays (58-35).
With their stellar record of 19 games over .500, are only two games behind the Rays in the very competitive AL East and have a five-game lead in the AL Wildcard Playoff race.
The league took notice of the successful Birds and selected four to be All-Stars.
Austin Hays, with his .314 batting average, made the team and even started due to an injury. Adley Rutschman was selected for the team as a backup catcher. Pitchers Felix Bautista and Yennier Cano were selected to be part of the AL Bullpen.
Hays, starting in centerfield, finished 1-2 with a single. Cano pitched one inning and recorded two strikeouts. Rutschman came in to catch for Bautista who unfortunately gave up the game winning two-run homer as the National League won 3-2.
Rutschman also took part in the Homerun Derby. He got knocked out in the first round but finished with 27 homers showing off by hitting from both sides of the plate.
As for the Orioles, Hays leads the team in batting average and is the fourth best hitter for average in the AL at a blistering .314. He leads the team with 90 hits.
Anthony Santander powered the Orioles in the first half leading the team with 16 homeruns and 50 RBI. He also leads the team with 24 doubles.
The pitchers are led in wins by starters Kyle Gibson (9-6) and Dean Kremer (9-4).
Another starter Tyler Wells is close behind at (7-4) and is leading the team with his 3.18 ERA. He also is tops with 103 strikeouts and has a team-leading batting average against at .193. He also has an MLB best 0.93 WHIP ( Walks+Hits per IP).
In the Bullpen, reliever Mike Baumann has a (5-0) record. Closer Bautista leads the team with 23 saves, fifth best in MLB. The All-Star has a (4-1) record and a sensational 1.07 ERA. He has 84 strikeouts.
His set up man Cano, has been a pleasant surprise and has a (1-1) record and a glimmering 1.48 ERA.
The Orioles kick off the second half of the season on July 14th, the start of a three game home series with the (53-39) Miami Marlins.
